A group of Te Awamutu mates are receiving VIP treatment after their bus caught fire on the way to Anzac Day commemorations in Gallipoli.
Forty-five passengers were making their way from Izmir about five hours from Anzac Cove, when the engine on their bus started to smoke.
![The local fire brigade was called but the bus was soon engulfed in flames.](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/UER2XC24UKTU7262TNWZJMBFBU.jpg?auth=8b5978918485748825db1f2927f8ee85f3cb1c0ebddc076052d4151032c5ed58&width=16&height=29&quality=70&smart=true)
Among them was Jamie Macdonald, James Hilhorst, Logan Parker, Cameron Weston and John Cudby - all from Te Awamutu.
Macdonald told the Te Awamutu Courier the bus was travelling up a long hill and struggling with the heavy load.